Build Review: Sd.Kfz.182 King Tiger Henschel Turret w/Zimmerit – “Abt.505”
From: Takom
Kit# 2047
1/35th scale
kit includes plastic sprues,
photo-etched details
Individual track links
Full interior kit
Hatches can be built open and closed
Decals for 2 variants inside
Price - £57, ¥7,520, US$72, €64 from Hobbylink Japan
Available from Takom’s Distributors Worldwide.
From: Takom
Kit# 2047
1/35th scale
kit includes plastic sprues,
photo-etched details
Individual track links
Full interior kit
Hatches can be built open and closed
Decals for 2 variants inside
Price - £57, ¥7,520, US$72, €64 from Hobbylink Japan
Available from Takom’s Distributors Worldwide.
Build guide Pt. I Interior construction & paint.
Build Guide Pt. II Exterior finishing and weathering.
Hot on the heels of the intense build of the innards of the Takom, King Tiger, I move on to the exterior of the beast. I really liked the kit supplied scheme of the Abt 505th, with the hard-edged white wash, and made the decision to paint my model in that scheme.
Part one of this review left off with the model receiving a coat of Alclad White Microfiller. The primer would help ensure the future layers of paint would adhere to all of the parts, plastic and photo-etch.
Once the primer had set, a thinned mix of Tamiya black was used as a pre-shade. A lot of this will be lost under the future layers of paint, but I like this stage of the painting and it helps get some variation in the tones to come.
The model now receives a base coat of Dunkelgelb from AMMO. Lighter tones were achieved by adding white to the mix. Here you can really see some of the interesting effects you can achieve using a pre-shade technique.
The camouflage pattern is now sprayed on freehand. The colour was achieved using Tamiya Flat Brown, and tonal variation was added by mixing black and dark yellow into the mix.
The model was very stark at this point, so an all tan over filter was applied. This started to tie the camouflage colours together.
The had edge whitewash was what really appealed to be, so I set about achieving that edge. I also wanted to be chipped up, so prior to masking, I added a couple of coats of hairspray. Once dry, the whitewash pattern was masked up.
White Tamiya acrylic thinned with water was now sprayed. I wasn’t worried about overspray as the coat of hairspray underneath would make it easy to tidy up.
With an old water moistened brush, the chipping now took place. Take it slowly and methodically. You can always take more off…but you can’t add it back if you take too much. The results were pleasing.
Rather than using the tape to mask the hull, I tried using Panzer Putty, although I believe AMMO has now issued this item and has renamed it. I’m not sure if I like this product or not, but it got the job done. I find it a little more difficult than Blu-Tack to use.
The white mix is again sprayed and chipped as I did on the turret.
Fine chipping is now added around the model using a sponge and Dark Tracks paint from the Ammo range. Again, better to do less rather than more…you can always go back and add to it.
A panel wash is now applied using Shadow Brown oil paint, thinned with white spirit. One it has had a few hours to dry, the excess can be manipulated and dragged using a sponge.
You can see the model starting to come to life, but still a way to go.
Some highlight points are now hand painted using Cremeweiss from the Ammo Interior colours. This will help lift some of these finer details.
At this point, I felt the recesses in the Zimmerit looked a little flat, so I went back to the tan filter and use that as a wash through only the Dunkelgelb areas.
‘Three Tone Fading’ oil paint is now applied to some of the horizontal areas to simulate fading and wear. Rather than using this as a wash, this was stubbed into the paint work and blended in that way. It took very little paint to achieve the result I was after.
A mix of Tamiya Red Brown and Black are now heavily thinned using Tamiya thinner. I now set about post shading panel lines and shadowed areas. The effect is subtle but adds another dimension. Streaking is achieved here also by using long faded strokes by carefully controlling the airbrush.
The spare tracks now get a treatment of Rust toned pigments. First, a dark base, working through to a light rust. They are applied dry and worked in with a brush. They are then set in place using a drop of white spirit.
Russian Earth Pigment from AMMO is now worked into logical places on the model.
I added some leaf scraps to the top side of the tank to help portray a working vehicle. A treatment of European Earth pigment was then added
The running gear now received a treatment of Wet Mud from the Ammo range. It was taken straight from the jar and applied using an old brush. A number of other earth tones are applied also.
A few tidy ups here and there and that would see this model out.
Conclusion
Now that the model is complete, I have time to reflect on the journey. There were parts that frustrated me and like I said in the previous review, I really did overthink this model and I really did sweat the small stuff. I lost count of the time I spent on this model, but I can safely say it was easily the longest build (in terms of hours spent), I have ever done.
Some close ups of the tank in walkaround...
If you are going to build it for yourself, then do yourself a favour and just have a look at other peoples builds and the actual detail you can see what in is complete. You will save yourself a great deal of time and effort if you do. That said, this is by no means the first kit with an interior, so if you are considering it, then you will probably know the deal. They are a lot of work for a glimpse of the interior, through hatches and maybe if you take the turret off to display it.
If you are brave enough to undertake a cut-away, then this kit is a no brainer – buy it.
For the main paint of this build, I used AMMO sets that were designed to shade this kit
The scale of the thing...
...And now a circuit around the whole tank.
So, on reflection, was it worth all the work? I guess you can be the judge. What I can say, is I am really happy with my King Tiger. The more I think about it, the more I love it. Once the airbrush gets put down, you forget the hours spent at the bench and just get to enjoy your finished model.
Clayton Ockerby
See more of Clayton’s work at his website “Workbench Hobbies” or join him on his Facebook page
Thanks of course to Takom for sending this model to Clayton to build
And last but not least thanks to AMMO for providing the paint and weathering supplies to this model build...
